Re: I've seen things you people wouldn't believe...

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In <g0246r$p5$1@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> on 2008-05-09,
 Tim McDaniel <tmcd@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> In article <slrng27nb5.9it.andrea+usenet@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>,
> Andrea Shepard  <andrea+usenet@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>>
>>In <e-mdnZc8Gvbv4b7VnZ2dnUVZ_q-jnZ2d@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> on 2008-05-08,
>> Doug Wickstrom <nimshubur@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>>> Really good codes are unbreakable.  Given sufficient time and
>>> effort, any cipher (which is what you appear to be discussing),
>>> can be cracked.
>>
>>*sigh*
>>
>>Go look up one time pads.
>>
>>Well, so they aren't very practical.
>
> If
> - it's computerized,
> - you can carry the one-time pad without a problem (border control
>   won't seize your DVD of random bits)
> - your message volume is a lot less than the storage media (typed-in
>   text e-mail versus a DVD full of key)
> it's eminently practical.

Distributing a DVD full of random bits isn't terribly hard.
Generating one quickly is; they have to be *real* random bits, from a
physical source.  Such tend to only produce a few hundred bytes per
second [1] and would take *over a year* to fill a DVD.  Distributing a
DVD such that you can be *sure* no one but the recipient has read it
is also harder.  Having a trusted person hand-carry it like you
describe is okay, but mailing it wouldn't be, and distributing over
the internet leaves it only as secure as that distribution channel.
Yeah, it's possible, and maybe even worth doing if you're really
paranoid, but SSL is an awful lot more convenient.

[1] http://www.fourmilab.ch/hotbits/

- -- 
Andrea Shepard                      | andrea+usenet@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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